The scary thing is he never really had a "prime". His career was interrupted by the rape thing and prison, etc. etc. As good as he was when he was late teens- earlier 20's, imagine if he had trained seriously and developed the rest of his career and not had the breaks( and breakdowns). The guy woulda been a monster and maybe the best ever. He had a combination of speed and power that probably will never be seen again. And when he was younger, he even knew how to box a little bit. What a badass.

Ali was, (is) the supreme pugilist, in his own words, "The Greatest". Tyson was a virtual knockout machine at first, sadly after his trainer, handler passed away his talent seemed to erode. Boxing hasnt been the same since.

Without a doubt Iron Mike would have kicked some serious ass.....while he isn't a technical fighter, the guy had no fear and an intimidation that will probably never be seen again. In that clip there is a guy that actaully runs to the corner and falls on the mat giving up....unreal

Flat out, without a doubt, period, Mike Tyson was the most physically gifted fighter ever. I don't even know how anyone can make a case otherwise. Tyson was as quick and agile as any lightweight, his body more durable than any middleweight, and he flat out packed a punch more deadly than anyone ever.

Technically he WAS a great fighter. Nobody perfected the bob and weave like Iron Mike. Few could even touch him because his defense was so good and he was so quick and elusive.

Mentally, he was held together by string, wrapped so tightly that at anytime he could break.

Ali vs. Tyson? No contest, not even close. Ali was the greatest, but Tyson was FASTER, STRONGER, and in his albeit short prime, had a chin that could take anything. Ali would not have lasted against Tyson's barage. Ali would not have been able to get past Tyson's bob and weave defenses and would have been devastated with an uppercut landing him on the canvas.

That's all considering Tyson would be mentally stable, was ready to fight, and was at the top of his game. Mike's prime was never reached because of the rape trial. Also, he was never the same after losing Cus.

When some talk about the biggest waste of talent you CAN make a case for Tyson even though he was the undisputed champion for a while. We didn't even get a chance to see him nearly at the top of his game.

Imagine Tyson with a sound mind, with the training and dedication that Bernard Hopkins has. Tyson may never have lost until his 50s....lol

Tyson went longer than 2 rounds more than people think. How many times was he knocked down? He's went the distance with a fighters quite a few times.

And just because he uses a brawler approach, doesn't mean he's not a technical fighter. You may see him flail but there's a ton of strategy behind his punch techniques. Take a look at his combos. Very few, if anybody had the quickness and technique to land the body/face combos that he did. Mike was an extremely intelligent boxer when he had the tools to back that style up.

No, he wasn't your prototypical jab jab boxer. No way, but that would have been ridiculously stupid for him. Tyson earned his living an quick, decisive combos. He fed on chaining hard punches together and using speed and power to overwhelm his oponents. Many see a brawler but there's so much technique behind it's unimagineable. There have been tons of fighters as strong as Mike, and a few as quick too, but nobody that was able to see holes in his opponents and continually exploit them.

There have been tons of fighters as strong as Mike, and a few as quick too, but nobody that was able to see holes in his opponents and continually exploit them.

Evander Holyfield did.

Even when he was younger his weakness' were there but nobody could last long enough to exploit them since the heavyweight division at that time was a joke (early in his career). His aura and intimidation ended fights before they even started. I think he went the distance twice and didn't look that impressive towards the end (tony tucker and someone else). After Buster Douglas his wekaness' were shown.

They said the same thing about a young George Foreman and Ali out thought him. He would have done the same with Tyson.

I don't think he was a great technical fighter at all. He couldn't adapt like Ali did. Ali could fight and win with any style.

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Sure Tyson was a beast. But the oldtime fights were tougher IMO. Some those old guys would fight 60-70 fights in a career. Now that tough.

Those guys also had to go 15 rounds in those days. Much more conditioning would be required. Tyson also became big due to his outlandish quotes, entertaining press conferences, and his ability to get in trouble with the law. He'd make some incredible reality TV though, especially with that new face tat he has going on LOL.

Even when he was younger his weakness' were there but nobody could last long enough to exploit them since the heavyweight division at that time was a joke (early in his career). His aura and intimidation ended fights before they even started. I think he went the distance twice and didn't look that impressive towards the end (tony tucker and someone else). After Buster Douglas his wekaness' were shown.

They said the same thing about a young George Foreman and Ali out thought him. He would have done the same with Tyson.

I don't think he was a great technical fighter at all. He couldn't adapt like Ali did. Ali could fight and win with any style.

Yeah, I remember watching the holyfield tyson(the first) fight thinking tyson was going to end it at any second, but it never came. Evander just dismantled mike.

True, but put holyfield against tyson back before he went to jail and holyfield would have ate the canvas in the first few rounds like everyone else......different tyson, different time.

Yeah that's what I always thought. I was a big tyson fan, and a buddy of mine was a holyfield fan. He used to always say that tyson would get his ass kicked and I'd tell him he's nuts. Too bad they fought when they did and not when mike was at least a little sane. I give evander credit,but man I woulda like t have seen them fight years earlier.

True, but put holyfield against tyson back before he went to jail and holyfield would have ate the canvas in the first few rounds like everyone else......different tyson, different time.

I don't think so at all. Tyson was the same fighter he was then IMO. People have this perception he was totally different. He wasn't. The aura around him certainly was. His preperation WAS different but his strategy and weakness' were the same. It would have been closer but I think Evander would still have frustrated and simply out boxed him. Differece is, Holyfield could take a beaten and keep going. Tyson never could. Most boxing analysts today even agree he wasn't that "great" of a boxer. He was intimidating, extremely powerfull and quick in a weak heavyweight division.

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I don't think so at all. Tyson was the same fighter he was then IMO. People have this perception he was totally different. He wasn't. The aura around him certainly was. His preperation WAS different but his strategy and weakness' were the same. It would have been closer but I think Evander would still have frustrated and simply out boxed him. Differece is, Holyfield could take a beaten and keep going. Tyson never could. Most boxing analysts today even agree he wasn't that "great" of a boxer. He was intimidating, extremely powerfull and quick in a weak heavyweight division.

Everyone is going to have differing opionions regarding tyson then and now. He definately was a different fighter after the rape trial conviction IMO. Prior to that event, nobody had ever exploited a weakness on tyson......they never had a chance to with most ko'd in the first 2 rounds. While I agree with most that he wasn't a distance fighter, but that however wasn't his stategy or mindset for the fight. If anyone was good at exploiting a boxers' weakness it was iron mike using nothing more than intimidation that opened up his opponents for a beating.......I think in the end tyson is really the one that beat himself....sad but true.

Everyone is going to have differing opionions regarding tyson then and now. He definately was a different fighter after the rape trial conviction IMO. Prior to that event, nobody had ever exploited a weakness on tyson......they never had a chance to with most ko'd in the first 2 rounds. While I agree with most that he wasn't a distance fighter, but that however wasn't his stategy or mindset for the fight. If anyone was good at exploiting a boxers' weakness it was iron mike using nothing more than intimidation that opened up his opponents for a beating.......I think in the end tyson is really the one that beat himself....sad but true.

Actually douglas whupped him prior to the rape trial. He went in there without fear, full of emotion from his mom passing, and nothing to lose. He stood toe to toe with mike, and got the win. More importantly, he showed that he could be beat. I think that was the turning point for mike, if for no other reason than I don't think he believed he could ever lose. Wait, on second thought, robin probably screwed mike up more than anything else in his career. The destructive power of poon.....

Actually douglas whupped him prior to the rape trial. He went in there without fear, full of emotion from his mom passing, and nothing to lose. He stood toe to toe with mike, and got the win. More importantly, he showed that he could be beat. I think that was the turning point for mike, if for no other reason than I don't think he believed he could ever lose. Wait, on second thought, robin probably screwed mike up more than anything else in his career. The destructive power of poon.....

Very true, poon has the destructive power that could topple rome......while yes douglas did whoop up on him, just by watching that fight it was like mike wasn't even there. Douglas did what he had to do to beat him, and did it well......but that trial was the icing on the cake in his downfall from the top.

I never watched boxing until a few years ago, and then my Tivo discovered ESPN Classics doing profiles of the greats. Having just recently watched about 5-10 hours each of Tyson, Ali, Frazier, Foreman, etc. Considering I had little bias coming into it, and based only on what I saw, I believe Tyson was the most dangerous and least consistent fighter ever.

Could anyone stand a chance fighting a ****y, focused, young Tyson on a good night throwing a flurry of KO uppercuts so fast I had to use slo-mo to even see his gloves? Hell no! Could Tyson mentally get it together even when he was 20, undefeated, and facing an inferior fighter? No way.

I give the young Tyson even odds with Ali or Foreman, just depends on what demons were dancing in his head that day.

Very true, poon has the destructive power that could topple rome......while yes douglas did whoop up on him, just by watching that fight it was like mike wasn't even there. Douglas did what he had to do to beat him, and did it well......but that trial was the icing on the cake in his downfall from the top.

Hehe yep, poon is a cruel mistress indeed. Good points, he definitely wasn't there that day. I think it was very evident just by looking at his conditioning for that fight. I don't recall him being in worse physical shape( which still wasn't necessarily horrible, but a bit soft for him) at any other point in his career.

Hehe yep, poon is a cruel mistress indeed. Good points, he definitely wasn't there that day. I think it was very evident just by looking at his conditioning for that fight. I don't recall him being in worse physical shape( which still wasn't necessarily horrible, but a bit soft for him) at any other point in his career.

I totally agree that his conditioning was definately subpar for that fight......but not only that, where the hell was his aggressive intimidation as a motivator....He couldn't have looked more flat that day, but guess it was bound to happen sooner or later. As far as mike's conditioning, when have you seen a boxer with a more impressive neck and traps than iron mike.

I totally agree that his conditioning was definately subpar for that fight......but not only that, where the hell was his aggressive intimidation as a motivator....He couldn't have looked more flat that day, but guess it was bound to happen sooner or later. As far as mike's conditioning, when have you seen a boxer with a more impressive neck and traps than iron mike.

Yeah he was always built solid. He looked like he could hit as hard as he did, which helped for the intimidation factor because he was short for a heavy weight. He did seem out of it for that fight. I think after douglas got up(even with the long count), he realized he was in some trouble. He obviously trained halfassed for the fight, and it was just busters day. The heavyweight division is in dire need of a guy like tyson right now, even with all the bad he brought to the game.

wasn't there a lot of speculation on the count? i seem to recall something like that, whether it's true or not i don't know. the claim was when douglas got knocked down, the count was ridiculously slow. however, when tyson was down, the count was much faster???? maybe i'm confused but that does ring a bell.

wasn't there a lot of speculation on the count? i seem to recall something like that, whether it's true or not i don't know. the claim was when douglas got knocked down, the count was ridiculously slow. however, when tyson was down, the count was much faster???? maybe i'm confused but that does ring a bell.

The turning point in Tyson's career was Cus's death. He was never the same fighter afterwards... not even close. Cus was Tyson's father, and was the tie that held Mike together emotionally. Had Cus lived longer, Tyson's career would have been a different story. Emotionally, he lost all heart to fight after Cus died. Tyson still won fights, but he slowly abandoned the style that Cus preached. Tyson's known for being a whirlwind fighter, but he wasn't early on in his career. Tyson was a vicious puncher that actually had technique and disciplined. Same with is life.... he slowly lost his career and his life.....

The turning point in Tyson's career was Cus's death. He was never the same fighter afterwards... not even close. Cus was Tyson's father, and was the tie that held Mike together emotionally. Had Cus lived longer, Tyson's career would have been a different story. Emotionally, he lost all heart to fight after Cus died. Tyson still won fights, but he slowly abandoned the style that Cus preached. Tyson's known for being a whirlwind fighter, but he wasn't early on in his career. Tyson was a vicious puncher that actually had technique and disciplined. Same with is life.... he slowly lost his career and his life.....

I totally agree, cus was the glue that held tyson together. He absolutely was a vicious puncher.....how many heavyweights have you seen that can throw a rt cross/uppercut combo with the speed and precision that he did.